Note: Hey, guys! Long time no see! I've spent the Summer writing fan fiction and since Autumn is finally here and the editing for this chapter of HTRARC was done, I figured I'd wait until Friday to release it! There is another chapter on the way. It should be out soon, as I am doing a lot for school at the same time. The next chapter is already mostly written and is pretty long. It also includes a sketch, which I put a sneak peek up for.

Fair warning! There will be another famous time jump. For those who may not remember, my point of view is that cars age much faster than us (it only took Sally four years from manufactured date to becoming a lawyer and leaving Los Angeles) according to Pixar, so following this, I've had to make a decision, and I made it.

Cheer up, Buttercup! There will be new characters too. You didn't think I'd have you wait this long and not give you something new, did you? :)

Again, this story was written many years ago when I was in high school, so you can expect that these new chapters are going to have better writing!

I hope you enjoy it and thanks for sticking around for so many years!

Chapter 22 - "Daddy's Little Girl"

"Hey, Luigi!" Lightning called. Luigi and Guido were both staring at the lift in Luigi's Casa Della Tires. Every now and then, Luigi would press his tire against the switch to make the lift go up, but when he pressed it, the lift went up about six inches, and then slammed back to the floor.

"Maledizione!" yelled Luigi. Guido flinched and said, "Io non romperlo!"

Luigi glared at Guido.

"Per favore, I didn't break it!" yelled Luigi.

"Guys?" said Lightning.

"Si, hai rotto esso!"

Luigi rolled his eyes.

"Ciao!" yelled Lightning. Luigi and Guido turned to see the racecar they haven't seen roaming around town for a while.

"Lightning! How are you?" asked Luigi.

"Ka-Chow!" Guido yelled with a grin.

"I'm doing okay, feeling a lot better, but without Jane..I..I'm guessing you guys aren't doing too good in here?"

"Not since Guido broke-a the lift."

"That's too bad."

"So what can I help you with?"

"I need-"

"Ah! Wait! Do not tell me! I shall find out myself," Luigi drove around Lightning in a few circles staring down at all four of his tires.

"Low on air? Fast fix! Guido!"

Guido brought over an air pump to Luigi. Luigi attached the hose to Lightning's valve and started inflating.

"Gee, it must really stink to break that lift today. Now you can't work on anything for the rest of the night."

"Ah, I forget you were in the hospital. This lift has been-a busted for four days!"

"Ahh," Lightning took a peek at himself in the mirror on the wall while Luigi worked on him. He looked at all of the parts of his body, then suddenly remembered something. His red paint - it reminded him of that Mustang that just rolled into town.

"I was drivin' 'round here last night when I blew a tire. Poor little me was stuck in the middle of the road…when…uh…when a nice car came up to me and fixed my tire."

"Luigi, you just said your lift was broken, right?"

Luigi stopped what he was doing again. He stared at Lightning with a blank expression on his face, "Yes, you've seen it."

"So how did you lift that Mustang?"

Luigi's blank expression turned confused, "What are you talking about?"

"The Mustang? The one who had to stop in town and get her tire changed?"

"Uh..?"

"You have no clue what I'm talking about?"

"Nope, maybe Guido knows," he looked over to see Guido, who was still tinkering with the lift, "Eh, Guido knows nothing.."

Sally drove out of her office and out to cone number four, where Vermella was staying.

"Vermella!" Sally called. "Vermella? Are you done?"

Sally noticed the busted garage door open and she saw a rusty hook gripping onto the side of the door, "Mater..?"

Mater was facing inside of the cone, looking at the mess, and trying to figure out how to take care of it before Sally saw it, but it was too late. He gasped when he heard his name coming from her.

"Mrs. Sally! Boy, I'm glad to see you!"

Sally's eyes narrowed, "Mater."

"Uh…oh.."

"Come here."

"AHHHH!" Mater drove out of the cone and Sally sped after him. They swerved through all of the cones, just like Lightning when he first came to Radiator Springs. Mater spun around and faced Sally, driving backwards.

"Sally! I can explain!"

"Where's my daughter!?"

"I know where Leo is! I mean Jane!"

"Where?"

"I can't say now!"

"WHERE?"

"If I tell you!"

"WHERE IS SHE?"

"RACING!"

Sally slammed on her brakes and smoke rose from her tires. She was breathing heavily and Mater stopped too.

"Wh-..Racing?"

"Mrs. Sally, please, let me explain."

"..and where's Vermella? Why were you inside of her cone?"

"Listen! Jane was taken by Vermella and we need to hurry! She's speeding after her right now, Mrs. Sally."

"I-...I-I need to go get-"

"MATER!" yelled a voice in the distance. A loud engine was heard coming closer and closer to him. It was Lightning and his eyes were filled with fury.

"Lightning, don't!" yelled Sally, "Sh-She did it. She took her. That Mustang.."

"I had a feeling, because she was never at Luigi's."

Mater nodded and said, "She's a liar and she's sick! She's Bubba's daughter and-"

"Bubba isn't going anywhere near her," Lightning said through his teeth.

"Bubba died..," said Mater, "B-But listen to me. She is sicker than Bubba. Bubba will kill, but Vermella…she's..she'll…mess with your mind and stuff! She's gonna kill Jane if we don't hurry up right now!"

"Mater, how do you even know all of this?" asked Sally.

"Yeah..what if you're just telling us another one of your stories?"

"Just trust me," Mater begged.

"I did."

Mater lowered on his axles, "Lightnin'…"

"Lightning, you need to get her. You're the only one fast enough," said Sally.

Lightning replied with a loud rev.

"Be safe…," she said, "I love you.."

"I'm coming back with her. I love you too," he gave her a kiss goodbye.

"Please, Stickers..don't make this a race where you finish in third.."

Jane was flying at ninety miles per hour. She dodged every pebble, every imperfection on the asphalt, and still managed to avoid every lady bug she happened to see too.

"Jane!" called Vermella, as she was speeding behind her. Being an adult, she was going much faster. Jane ignored her. She looked into her side mirrors to see where Vermella was.

"I didn't mean to hurt you, Jane! Look, see? I'm calling you 'Jane' now! Come on, I was kidding! Jane, listen!"

"Go away!" Jane could feel her axles throbbing. Her engine felt like it was on fire. Steam wafted from under her hood and it burst open from the heat. Other cars on the road swerved around her. Jane's hood fought against the wind, which began to slow her down.

Vermella smiled wide while she gasped for air. She forced herself to go faster to catch up with Jane, but then something in the distance was flying toward her face. A white square of metal. Vermella drifted out of the way and it dropped to the street. Once it hit the ground, it made a loud crashing noise. Vermella ignored that and continued to speed after Jane.

Lightning could feel himself getting tired. Missing out on the racing season this year and not moving from one spot in Doc's clinic took a toll on the athlete's body. Lightning could feel that he seemed much heavier than usual. His shadow on the street agreed with him, but he couldn't stop. He needed to fight to get his daughter back. He kept himself on the road until a white square on the street caught his eye. He slammed on his brakes and his tires locked up in the burning rubber.

With a tire, he put a tread against an edge of the square and let it rest inside. He moved his tire up and down so the streetlight sparkled on the paint. White paint with a touch of metallic flakes. He knew it was a hood. It had tire marks on it, as if another car hurt this one. Lightning looked out on the street in front of him to see if there was a car up ahead and there wasn't. He looked back at the paint on the hood. There was only one car that Lightning knew who had paint like this.

Jane.

His engine sank and his gas tank turned. He shook his hood and snapped out of his angry fit. He had a car to catch. He continued to speed down the road to catch up.

Vermella's teeth grit tightly, and through them, she snarled, "You betrayin' lil' bitch."

Jane's body slowed more and more, until she had no choice but to pull over on the side of the road, huffing and puffing her little intake to its limits. She turned her mirror to see better, to find an angry Mustang breathing down her rear windshield. Vermella skidded to a stop and yanked her with just a wheel, forcing Jane to a halt.

"Who do you think you are? After all that I've done for you? Turn off your headlights you stupid child."

Hyperventilating, Jane quickly switched them off and stared wide-eyed at the crazy Mustang, "Ver-"

"We have to get you off this road now," she grabbed Jane's little tire and pulled again. Jane yelped loudly.

"SHUT UP," she pulled back her other axle to slap the little girl, just like before, but just as Jane pulled her face back in defense, a voice called out for her.

"Jane?"

Her little mirrors perked up.

Vermella gasped, "No."

She grit her teeth and looked from the girl to the street where the voice was coming from. She growled, "Dammit, this ain't the last of me, you brat," she threw the girl back onto the street, "You'll never amount to anything. Never. You'll always be a spoiled little brat and everything that's coming to you? You'll deserve it."

Shaking her hood, she finished with, "Just you wait."

Jane cowered in fear, eyes looking in every direction for that voice.

Vermella sped off into the desert night, just as she came into town for the first time, but she wasn't pristine anymore.

"Jane?" Lightning squinted at the little car in the street. Even without headlights, he could tell his baby apart from anything, "Jane!"

"Daddy!" Jane squealed, still out of breath. Her eyes met Lightning's and without knowing a single reason why, her pupils widened. She waved a wheel back and forth. With a heavy gasp and a shaking breath, Lightning quickly scooped her up and onto his hood. Jane's little tires splayed out on his big red body, hugging it with all four of her axles. Despite everything, she flashed her gummy smile, knowing she was finally safe.

Lightning's eyes peered into Jane's, "Are you alright? Huh? Where did she go?"

"A-Away," Jane said.

"Don't you worry, little star," Lightning said, turning back toward town, "No one will ever hurt you again," he continued to comfort her, "Daddy's here. We're all here. We're gonna watch you grow together..and we're gonna fix you right up like none of this ever happened.."